More thoughts on Nairobi
March 30, 2009

Hello,

Our fastnacht day went well. It was fun to have people in our home. I had some help frying donuts and washing dishes. So I mingled with guests. I was pleased that some of them even noticed some photographs that I had taken. They were also impressed with the photo album of our grandchildren that Jen assembled for us.

Now back to Nairobi. Someone, who lives in South Africa, commented about the pedestrians at night walking along side the road or on the road. Dark skin and dark clothes make them almost impossible to see in the dark. Driving in Nairobi means that you have to be especially alert at all times. Another rather dangerous activity was the numbers of people who are riding in the backs of trucks. I suppose the alternatives make it worth the risk. Walking for a long period of time, spending food money to ride the matatu, risking life and limb by riding in the back of a truck, or not going at all are probably some of the options open to them.

I have included some pictures of the slum in Nairobi. It is quite close to the home of Stephen and Sarah. There were riots there in December 2007. We did not go in the slum as we needed a guide to do that, but we drove around the outskirts. There were many people out and about. I tried to get pictures of the narrow alleyways/streets, but was unable to snap the shutter at the proper time. Mostly I have pictures of the venders. It was incredible dusty, the street was holey, and there were certainly no other white people around. I felt caught between thinking I was invading “their” territory and wanting to see what it was like. You can read about this slum of Kibera on the Internet. It is a sad thing. It is very large, requiring some time to drive around it. Homes are densely packed with just narrow passages between them. Opulence and depravity are almost next door to each other.

Paula
http://picasaweb.google.com/psbradway/KiberaSlumInNairobi##